The boy in the desert

They stayed in the same room for a long time, during which Harold planned his next steps for the journey. However, the presence of the giant serpent, with its sudden appearances, kept ruining everything.

After a while, Harold developed an interest in the city's underground pathways. These routes allowed him to move between different parts of the city without worry—or at least so he believed.

Evelina always ventured partway into the tunnels and refrained from fully exploring them. Harold didn't understand why she behaved this way, as Evelina wouldn't speak and only communicated through gestures when necessary.

Harold faced another question: was there really no way to bypass the serpent? And why was it that the serpent was nowhere to be found when he first entered the city?

He stroked his beard and tried to piece everything together, but nothing came to mind. Frustrated, he looked at Evelina, who was busy creating tiny creatures out of water magic.

Evelina crafted several miniature versions of herself, which barely managed to balance on the edge of a basin. Occasionally, one would fall into the water with a soft plop and burst. Evelina laughed and watched the remaining ones.

Seeing Evelina's occasional moments of joy reminded Harold of his own past, though no pleasant memories remained from that time.

Year 1124

The Eastern Desert of the Luminous empire – Near the Borders of the Fallen Kingdom of Pars

The camel driver tightly gripped the reins and used his other hand to shield his eyes from the sandstorm. Sandstorms were always troublesome, but the profits from trading with the nomadic border tribes made these hardships worthwhile.

A caravan of about twenty people marched in an orderly line, heading in what they assumed was east.

The leader of the caravan, a man with a curved sword at his waist and a large scar on his face, looked at the others and shouted:

"Stop! Set up the tents! We can't go any further!"

They halted to let themselves and their animals rest.

When the storm passed, the caravan was left alone in a vast plain of accumulated sand. A few animals had perished, and some damage had been sustained, but as long as the main cargo reached its destination, it would all be worth it.

After counting their numbers and assessing the damage, they set off again. This time, the sky was clear, and the sun beat down on the dunes with full force. The only shadows to be found were beneath some of the larger sand mounds. The camels' hooves disrupted the rippled surface of the sand, but the wind quickly restored it to its original state.

Hours of intense heat had drained everyone's strength. This unprecedented heat felt unbearable even to those who had crossed this route many times before. They all agreed it was the harshest heat they had ever experienced.

At last, fortune smiled on them as they stumbled upon an oasis amidst the dunes. Seeing a meadow in the heart of the desert was like finding a diamond among worthless stones.

The caravan leader shouted, "We'll rest here! Refill the water supplies and let the animals rest."

The caravan members pitched their tents and prepared to relax. Everything seemed peaceful at the oasis, but no one knew what dangers lurked behind this tranquility.

A few hours later, as the sun slowly descended and the air became somewhat more tolerable, one of the lookouts suddenly shouted that a stranger was approaching.

The caravan members, fearing a bandit attack, scrambled into action, but the stranger was neither a bandit nor accompanied by a group. He was a ten-year-old boy, with a curved dagger at his waist and a cloth covering his head and face.

No one expected such a sight.

"Don't let your guard down! Just because he's a child doesn't mean he's harmless."

"Exactly! There are plenty of monsters in the world. Maybe that kid isn't even human. The legends of this region say spirits disguise themselves as strange beings and, after deceiving their prey, devour their souls!"

They examined the boy. His cracked, parched lips, severe sunburned skin, and the fresh blood seeping from the cracks in his lips all proved that he was human.

The caravan members thought to themselves: Who would abandon a child with a dagger in the middle of the desert?

However, when the sun fully set, and the boy sat under the shade of a tree, most of them passed by him indifferently.

The caravan leader, still feeling sorry for the boy, took some food and approached him.

"Never rest recklessly under a tree or on a rock in the desert. You never know what creature might have been there before you."

The boy stared blankly at him and the bowl of soup, then asked, "Does that also apply to food offered by others?"

The man laughed, took a sip of the soup, and handed it to the boy. After seeing this, the boy gulped it down.

"What are you doing here?"

"Traveling."

"Alone?"

"With my sword."

The man glanced at the boy's small dagger and smiled. "You call that a sword?"

The boy replied, "In the hands of a knight, anything can be a sword!"

The man laughed heartily. "Interesting! You're quite a funny kid."

But suddenly, the boy jumped to his feet and said, "Thanks for the food, but you'd better take your caravan and leave."

Surprised, the man asked, "Why? Do you want to enjoy the oasis's silence alone?"

The boy replied, "I'm afraid this silence isn't as pleasant as you think. Leave now, while there's still time."

The man stood up, chuckling. "You're right; the oasis doesn't host guests forever."

The boy smiled and nodded in agreement.

The man asked, "Which family are you from?"

The boy answered, "I have no family."

The man said, "Then how can I repay your kindness?"

The boy pointed to the soup bowl and said, "You already have."

Half an hour later, the caravan was ready to move. It disappeared into the desert, with lanterns and torches glowing like stars across the dunes.

Shortly after, the boy drew his dagger and walked resolutely toward the water's edge. His gaze was cold and serious.

"Come out... I've been looking for you for a long time."

A strange, resonant sound arose from the depths of the water—a sound impossible to distinguish as a scream or a roar, but whatever it was, it exuded a deep sense of danger and unease.

The boy struggled to breathe when, suddenly, the surface of the water exploded. A massive serpent, with gleaming scales and eyes like blood, emerged from the depths.

The boy whispered under his breath, "The great serpent... you..." but he couldn't finish his sentence. Without hesitation, the serpent attacked, and a fierce battle between the two began.

Far away, the caravan leader glanced back at the oasis, now just a small speck on the horizon. He smiled and prepared to continue the journey, but a sudden flash of light from the oasis caught his attention.

[What was that?]

[Should I go back?]

[But we've come so far… I can't…]

His conscience wouldn't let him rest. He decided to pull the reins and return, but before he could move, a powerful wave of energy surged from the direction of the oasis toward the caravan.

The camels panicked, and the horses neighed in terror. Torches fell to the ground and extinguished. Everyone shivered with fear. This was something far beyond their ability to handle.

As he processed what had just happened, the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. The grains of sand started to shift, and before long, one of the camels sank into the quicksand.

The man could hardly believe what he was seeing when an unimaginably massive serpent burst from the sand. It opened its jaws wide and swallowed the camel whole.

The serpent stood 15 meters tall, a colossal pillar casting its shadow over the caravan. But what stunned the man more than the devoured camel or the serpent's gargantuan size was something he simply couldn't comprehend.

[That boy?!]

That boy with the dagger—standing on the serpent's head?!

The serpent slammed its head into the sand with great force, but the boy held his ground. With each strike, he maintained his balance as if he were infinitely experienced in this uneven battle.

The sudden splash of water snapped Harold out of the memory. One of Evelina's miniature creations had fallen into the basin and popped. Harold took a deep breath, trying to banish the memory from his mind, but it was no use.

He murmured under his breath, "My God… I'm losing my mind…"

His face contorted with the pain of those memories. "Why now? Why is that cursed serpent coming back to me now?"